Why was Japan Allowed to Keep its Emperor After World War 2? (Short Animated Documentary)

Emperor Hirohito of Japan was a rare case of an axis leaders who didn't get Nuremburged or Tokyo'd and managed to keep his position (and life). But why? Why was Hirohito not punished and Japan allowed to keep its emperor?

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[danielbaggs]

Me normally: "He died."
Me writing an Essay: "His tenure was cut short by a minor case of mortality."

[DrewPicklesTheDark]

US: You know we are probably going to bust you for war crimes.
Hirohito: I don't like communists.
US: Why didn't you say so? Welcome to the club!

[crunchmcm]

Crazy. Hirohito during his reign witnessed the rise of the Japanese Empire, Great Depression, Mukden Incident in 1931, invasion of China in 1937, World war II and the empire at greatest extent, 2 atomic bombs, post war recovery, Olympic opening in 1964, Rise of anime, economic growth and almost the entire cold war dying in 1989, just as the cold war was ending.

[intergalactic]

Also, there was a strong feeling that the removal of Kaiser Wilhelm in Germany in world war 1 contributed to a feeling of resentment amongst the German people, and a feeling that the Weimar Republic were a bunch of traitors whom had abandoned their rightful leader, which fostered an environment that could easily be exploited by the Nazi party in their rise to power. The feeling was that they had made a mistake there and were determined not to make the same one again. Hirohito would be able to keep the Japanese people on side in a way that a completely new regime would find impossible.

[ShieldAre]

"And they still let the Emperor dress like an Emperor and have very nice things"

[reality]

"His tenure was cut short by a minor case of mortality"

[Toggingdave]

The other thing to keep in mind is that the Japanese Emperors have seldom had any real political power for over a thousand years. Between the Fujiwara Regents, the Shoguns, and then the various ministers and generals post Meiji Restoration, there have always been others running the show and telling the Emperor what he should do.

As for the Showa Emperor himself (Hirohito), he actually expressed misgivings on several occasions with the way the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy were conducting themselves and the wars they were starting - including the attack on Pearl Harbor. The army ignored him and did whatever they wanted anyway, so the emperor eventually gave up trying - at least until the cabinet was deadlocked on whether or not to surrender at the end of the war. After the second bomb was dropped, he finally spoke up as the tie breaking vote and insisted on surrender. And for the first time in his reign, the generals and admirals actually listened to him and did what he said.

Edit: Since people are still, years later, dropping comments trying to correct me, let me put this here.

I live in Japan. At the time of this edit, I have lived here 15 years. That is 15 years of studying Japanese history. 15 years of visiting the places where these events happened and listening and/or reading first hand accounts from the people who were there. And while I may not claim to be a subject matter expert, I have very good friends who definitely are.

So before you reply to this comment, go read all of the other replies below. Or just don't reply, as I am tired of repeating myself every few months because some new internet random thinks they know more about Japanese history than the writer who is actually there.

[jacobwiren]

0:52 *Truman not to scale*

That caught me off guard!

[itaybron]

They did make him say he's in fact a man and not divine which was a big deal for the Japanese

[britishfish]

To be honest I can see a giant Truman in a future Godzilla film.

[CelestialSwann]

0:30
One of the best History Matters bit ever.

[colindaniels]

The other thing to note is that Hirohito was essentially a figurehead during WW 2.

The true power was Tojo and the military

It's the same reason why Italy's king wasn't removed after WW 2.

[jonbaxter]

Allies to Germany: You will pay for your deeds!
Allies to Japan: You cool man, see you next week

[harveyaa]

We all love a bit of history matters, don’t we?

[Tytoalba]

0:43 it should be noted (and emphasized) that keeping the emperor wasn't Japan's only condition for surrender, at least pre-nuking. Japan also wanted to try their own war criminals instead of handing them over to the allies (ie, letting said war criminals get off scot-free) and keeping their pre-war territory, such as Korea and Taiwan.

[maplejaeger]

2:09 -United States and Japan along with allies against the Soviet Union "You suck"



That killed me so hard LMAOROF

[Achillez]

The most important thing this channel has ever taught me:
Dying is fatal

[willbowden]

It's also expressly written into the Japanese post war constitution that the Emperor can have no say whatsoever over the government. The Diet led by the Prime Minister holds all power. While this is generally the norm in constitutional monarchies very few actually put it into law with one of the few other examples being Sweden. Technically Queen Elizabeth II could dissolve parliament and rule with her reserve powers (although she would then be deposed) in a way that the Japanese Emperor simply cannot

[chipXX_VGRLeader]

2:24 Cold War in 1980s
USA: Ronald Reagan
UK: Margaret Thatcher
USSR: Mikhail Gorbachev

Hirohito died in 1989

[roberthudson]

It is very simple. After the post-WW1 chaos in Germany and Russia, MacArthur (or someone above him in the chain of command) realized that keeping Emperor Showa in power would give Japan a keystone around which the new government could be built. The decision worked out spectacularly.